BASEBALL: Claremore handles BTW for second district sweep

Mar. 13—Booker T. Washington never stood a chance.

Whether from the plate or from the mound, Claremore never let the visiting Hornets get comfortable, leading to a convincing 13-3 victory Tuesday night in District 5A-3 action inside Murray-Pixley Park at Legendary Legion Field. The Zebras improved to 6-1 overall with the win and 4-0 in district play and will host Edison in a nondistrict clash Thursday at 5 p.m.

Claremore peppered BTW with 17 hits through six innings, with Brad Hoisington and Marcos Sallee leading the way with three apiece. Zach Hale, Tyson Grimett, Kellen Gaede and Connor Rowe added two each to join the multihit club, with Hale pacing the team with three RBIs.

Meanwhile, Dan Harrington put up a dominant showing on the mound, tossing nine strikeouts with no hits and one walk allowed on 59 pitches through four innings. All but 20 of those hurls resulted in strikes (66.1%).

The Zebras jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one inning, with Sallee, Tyler Osgood and Izaak McMahan singling in runs while Layne Rice scored on an error.

The Hornets (1-6, 1-3) managed all three of their runs in the top of the second, two of which came courtesy of bases-loaded walks. Jacob Yankee's single, which scored Aaron Bendure, accounted for the other run and served as the team's only hit.

Grimett and Rowe increased Claremore's lead 7-3 in the second with a pair of RBI singles, and then it was Harrington's turn to pitch.

BTW had no answer for the sophomore's arm strength, for he attacked it with five-consecutive strikeouts upon taking the mound. The Zebras didn't score again until Rowe singled in Grimett in the fourth, but Harrington ensured the Hornets had no comeback opportunities during the brief dry spell.

Claremore tacked on three more runs in the fifth, with Sallee stealing home between two RBI singles from Hale and Gaede to put the advantage at 11-3. Hale activated the mercy rule in the sixth, scoring Sallee and Hoisington with a single on a hard ground ball to left field.